“With the support of Arts Council England and Wandsworth Council, the Arts Team is delighted to present a richly imaginative programme of strategic new commissions which celebrate communities and creativity in the borough.” – from Wandsworth Arts Festival website.

‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ showing items taken from the River Wandle during monthly Community Clean-ups. Image courtesy Kristin Franclemont.

For the first time at the Wandsworth Arts Festival, there is a Festival Hub. The Hub is situated on the Wandle Triangle and features a “Cabinet of Curiosities”, filled with items that had previously been tossed into the River Wandle. The Festival Hub provides an information centre, a day-time gathering place and a night-time events venue throughout the Festival.

On Festival weekends, The Brick Box put on a series of events, performances, film screenings and other activities.

On Saturday 4th May 2013, the Unorthobox event hosted performance and installation artists, Boris and Boris (Yael Karavan and Bruno Humberto) who used a “…dazzling mix of physical theatre, installations, performances and projections to create a truly magical experience. They will be popping up in some very unexpected places, bringing their mix of physical theatre, tom-foolery and imaginative journeying” – from The Brick Box website.

In a nearby mini outdoor theatre, Passenger Films presented a series of short films and animations related to the River Wandle. One of my favourite videos was Waterway (2011) by artist Britta Johnson, a stop-animation film which showed drops of water being cleaned as they move through waterways and the organisms that live there. And if you’re interested in all the critters that live in our water, click the link to check out a short film from Daniel Stoupin of Microworlds Photography, on Vimeo entitled, Life we don’t see.

The guys from Platterform serving up Junkyard Juice at the Unorthobox bar. Image courtesy Kelise Franclemont.

Lovely libations were provided by Platterform, specialists in providing “…surprising and exciting drinking and dining experiences, collaborating with some of London’s most exciting start up and established food and drink businesses and talked about chefs, sommeliers and drink specialists.” – from the Platterform website.

Be sure to check for updates on wandsworthartsfestival.com for information about what’s going on, or drop by the Festival Hub in Wandle Triangle to pick up information.

Event details: Wandsworth Arts Festival and Fringe runs from 3 – 19 May, culminating in The Shimmy on Sunday 19th of May, a mini-festival of performance and art. The festival hub is located across from Wandsworth Southside Shopping Centre in Wandle Triangle, alongside the River Wandle adjacent to the old Ram’s Brewery.